Christmas Post: Winter Craft Fair at Southwell Minster

As you know from previous posts I really like the Christmas season and have decided this year to visit a few new places particularly Christmas markets/fairs as well as my usual Christmas trip with a friend. The first one was the Winter Craft Fair at Southwell Minster which I visited last Saturday. Incredibly the last time I visited the Minster (and wrote about it here) was in 2013! This is in part because it’s about a 40-45 minute bus journey from where I live but a pleasant route through some picturesque villages.

There’s been a fair held at the Minster for a quite a few years but I hadn’t heard about it until recently. There were over 60 stalls selling all sorts of products from ceramics, jewellery and art to food and of course lots of Christmas decorations. I won’t share what I bought as the recipients may be reading this! but special shout out to artist Rosie Smith – I bought a beautiful painting she did of a fox for myself. You can find her website here.

The fair took place both in the main building of the Minster and the Archbishop’s Palace which dates from the 14th century – the State Chamber as photographed here was the place where Cardinal Wolsey spent his last summer having fallen out of favour with Henry VIII.

It was a lovely event in a really good venue. Entry was a £3 donation which goes towards upkeep of the Minster itself.